Women's Basketball: Ohio struggles to shoot, finds other ways to compete in loss to Buffalo

Amani Burke walked into her postgame press conference with a blank look on her face.

She was frustrated — and rightfully so — with the lack of shots falling for Ohio on Wednesday night.

The Bobcats shot 15 percent from 3-point range and struggled to find a rhythm shooting from the outside, but scored points around the basket to keep them within striking distance of Buffalo.

The Bobcats came up short, however, in their 67-63 loss in The Convo.

“At times, yes,” Burke said regarding feeling good about the team despite its 3-3 conference record. “At times, no. I feel like there’s never a perfect game.”

Led by Burke, Ohio was supposed to be an elite shooting team this season. For chunks of the season, it has been. The Bobcats average 7.8 made 3-pointers per game. But against Buffalo, they made just three, their lowest output of the season.

The points in the paint, which was pegged to be the weak-link for the guard-heavy Bobcats, carried them to a 52-50 lead at the end of the third quarter lead.

They outscored the Bulls 36-28 in the paint. Layups and dribble-drives to the rim came easy for the Bobcats.

And for a two and a half-minute stretch, it seemed like the 3-pointers were going to start falling. Burke, Gabby Burris and Katie Barker all made a 3-pointer and the Bobcats had the lead. But that was all Ohio could muster from behind the 3-point arc; it missed its final six 3s.

When asked after the game what allowed Ohio to knock down those shots in the third quarter that didn’t fall the majority of the game, coach Bob Boldon kept his answer short.

“The shots went in,” Boldon said.

But the missed shots didn’t stop the Bobcats from staying in the game late. Defensively, they forced five turnovers and held the Bulls to 4-of-12 shooting in the fourth quarter.

“Our inability to make shots has at times almost slowed our offense down to a complete stop,” Boldon said. “I think our players deserve a lot of credit for continuing to fight through that, continuing to get defensive stops and continuing to run offense and get shots.”

Those shots weren’t jump shots, though. Eight of Ohio’s 11 points in the fourth quarter came from layups; the other three were free throws.

Burke knows there will be nights where the outside shots simply won’t fall. When that happens, it’s about finding other ways to compete in and win games.

“We’re not going to pout about (being 3-of-3 in conference) and just be down,” Burke said. “We’re just going to keep getting ready for the next teams.”